Cotton conveying apparatus for cotton pickers



May 28, 1946. c. R. HAGEN COTTON CONVEYING APPARATUS FOR COTTONPIGKERS .Filed June 29, 1944. s sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR.

l www XAMON lww w www May 2s, 1946. 2,401,152

COTTON CONVEYING APPARATUS FOR COTTON'IICKERS c., R. HAGEN Filed June 29, 1944 5 Sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR. arezce U Tw www cgeraf dai/1 1 C. R. HAGEN May 28, 1946.

COTTON CONVEYING APPARATUS FOR COTTON PIGKERS s 'sheets-shea s Filed June 29, 1944 INVENTOR. ga rence @,/age/z.

V1,2, and 4; and

Patented May 28, 1946 COTTON CONVEYING AAPPARATUS FOR COTTON PICKERS Clarence R. Hagen,` Chicago, Ill., assignor to lnternational Harvester Company,a corporation of New Jersey Application June 29, 1944, Serial No. 542,77 3

,Y 1 Claim. (Cl. 302-17),

This invention relates to cotton picking apparatus and particularly concerns a pneumatic system for conveying cotton from a picking unit to a receptacle which is transported over the cotton field with the picking unit.

An important object of the invention is the provision of a tractor-mounted type of pneumaticl cotton conveying system employing a blower ona rearward side portion of a tractor in such an arrangement and position that4 adapts the rotor of said blower to be driven by a drive i 'I fpositely-` extending rear axle housings II and` I2. .At the: front portion ofgthe; body I is the conshaft receiving power from the front of the tractor engine and extending rearwardly alongside of the tractor to said rotor. The arrangement assures energization of the pneumatic system at allV times the engine is running so `there is no opportunity for the system to become clogged by cotton initially picked by an engine-driven cotton picking unit.

Another object-is the provision of a novel arrangement wherein theblower is beneath a receptacle for the picked cotton whereby the inherent property of the blower to change direction in the course of the cotton can be strategically utilized for directing the cotton upwardly alongside the receptacle into 4an upper portion thereof.

Another object is the provision of a new blower I in and encompassed by the invention will be` better understood upon reading the ensuing description with reference to the annexed drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a tractor `with the preferred embodiment of the invention installed thereon;

Fig. 2 is a plan view ofnthe tractor ratus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan View of a cotton conveying blower employed in the apparatus and installed below the cotton receptacle as illustrated in Figs.

Fig. 4 isa rear elevational view of the tractor and apparatus, with the receptaclein the lling position.

The pneumatic cotton conveying apparatus, constituting the present invention, is illustrated herein in conjunction withV collateral apparatus to clarify its function and utility. Such appaand appa- ,superposed-by a fuel tank I4 anda hood I5. shaft. I6; at the front of the;tractor is anexten- `sion 4 oftheV engne'crank shaft.` Support for the `iront end` of lthef tractor is `provided by the usual is "of". the revolvable spindle type. 1 whichis placed at the right oi the tractor body, .includesoaV casing 2l separated from a pressure "plate assembly 28 by a fore and aft` extending ratus and the collateralLparts are tractor mounted. Claims to said collateral parts will be found in copending applications Serial No. 542,770 to Clarence R. Hagen and Louis E. Nickla, Serial No. 54217.71 to`Clarence R. Hagen, Serial No. 542,772

vto Clarence R.. Hagen,A and Serial No. 542,774 to Clarence R..Hagen, all` assigned to the assignee of the present` application..

. The tractor `upon which the apparatus is herein .assembled is oneA ,variety of farm tractor comprising a. .body :Ill projecting. forwardly from opve'nti'onally placed internal combustion engine I3 A steeringtruck I'l comprising a ground-engaging steering. wheel I3;` Support forthe` rear end of the` tractor is provided Iby rearv traction Wheels I9 and 2|` atthe outer ends Aof the axle housings II and I2. 22 and 23 at the outer endsloffthe axle housings' II and'yl2 contangearsinot shown) which trans- `mit drivingfforce .fromaxles within the housings i-I' andvl2 to thehubs `of the wheels I9 andV 2l, the-,housing portions 22 and 23` being upright so as to support the inner parts of the axle housings at an` elevation to give ample clearance for the field: plants. I I l `An operators station includes an operators seat 2.4 suitably supported adjacently to and over `theaxle housing IZ--that is,to one side of the tractor body I0. The tractor steering wheel 25 is directly in front of the seat 24. I

Acotton pickingI unit generally designated 26 This unit,

plant.receivingfpassage 29. Two` groups, A and B, or assemblies of cotton-picking spindles are enclosed in the` casing 2lin` a tandem arrangement; with the assembly A disposed forwardly of `the assembly B. Cotton-picking assemblies A andfB may be of the character fully described in I United;` States Patent2,140631, so it will suice for the'present disclosure merely toexplain that the-picker spindles SP of the assemblies A and -B are;l revolved generally about axes A andB' to: cause.4 their tipsto follow the path indicated by thedot-dash vlines ay and b. It will be seen, therefore, that the picker spindles, while they are beingrevolved about the axis A and B', aresuc- Depending gear containing portionsv ated upon throughout the height of the passage.. The spindles SP revolve in the direction indi. .i

cated by the arrows AW, and upon arriving in registry with a group of vertically spaced ,dong disks shown in dotted outline at D,'the`c'otton is removed from the spindles by these disks and discharged into the casing 21.

Subsequently, theA spindles come in registry with vertically spaced.

moistening disks M where they are m'oistened prior to again being projected into theplant receiving passage. v`The casing 21, in addition to housing the picking spindle sets, the doer disks and the moisteningV disks, also serves as an air chamber ofY a pneumatic system for the conduction of the picked cotton awayfrom the picker ringer assemblies into a cotton receptacle 3|. Air is drawn into the casing 21 through the openings at the plant passage where the picking fingers extend outwardly into saidpassage, and this air laden with the cotton doffed from thespindles, proceeds upwardly through conduit legs 32 and 33 for ultimate delivery into the receptacle 3|. Doors 34 and 35 upon the outer side of the casing 21 pivot at their forward ends about axes which Y are coaxial with the lower ends of the conduit legs 32 and 33, and these doors have short conduit necks 36 and 31 pivotable within-the conduit legs to facilitate opening and closing of the doors. Access is therebyl easily had to the picker spindles, the dofng apparatus and the spindle moistening apparatus from the outer side of the Y picking unit 26.

rIhat side of theplant receiving passage 29 i opposite to the casing 21 is formed by plant pressing plates 38, 39, and llllwhich are yieldably held into the positions illustrated so that they may be displaced toward the tractor engine when pressed upon by a profuse plant growth occupying the passage 29.V The pressure plate assembly 28 is supported from the chamber 21 by a horizontal rod 4| at the upper forward end of the passage 29 and by a passage covering plate 42 at the rear end of the passage in registry with the rear picker spindle assembly B.

A plant lifting device 5| is attached to the forward end of the unit 26 for raising the lowermost stems of the plants'off of the ground kto a suincient height for passing through the lower ones of the picking spindles SP. The device 5|.com-

prises backwardly inclined rods 52 having ground-engaging runners 53 attached to their front ends.

VSupport for the picking unit 26 is provided by a frame 55 comprising a r generally L-shaped frame member 56 having a fore and aft extending leg 51 and a laterally turned leg 58 having a juncture 59. A strut member 6l projects outwardly in spaced relation with the leg 58 and connects with the `frame member 55 adjacent-,ly to the juncture 59 where the member 6| extends through an aperture (not shown) in the leg 51 of the frame member '56. A welded connection 62 is provided between the members 6| and 56.

tractor axle housing |2 by a plate 63 to which the member 51 is secured by any standard means 63 in Fig. l. A footing plate 64 is welded or otherwise secured to the free ends of the members 58 and 6|, and this plate 64 is adapted to be secured to the tractor body l0 by means of cap screws 65 which are screwed into bosses or pads 66 and 61 provided upon said body I0.

The outer end of the strut 6| extending through the frame leg 51 extends into and provides a bearing spindle for the hub 68 of a bellcrank 69, which has a pair of laterally spaced horizontal arms 1| and 12 and an upright arm 13. The forward ends of the arms 1| and 12 mutually support the upper end of a linkage 14 which is suitably attached to the picking unit. By pivoting the bell-crank 69, the outer end of the arms 1| and 12 can be raised or lowered for changing the elevation of the picking unit whichr is suspended therefrom through the link 14. Pivoting of the bell-crank 69 is effected manually through a lever15 having its lower end attached to the hub of the bell-crank and operable over a Vquadrant 18, Fig. 2, for retaining a selected height of the picking unit. The upwardly projecting arm of the bell-crank is operated upon by the counter-balancing spring assembly 16, which is adjustably connected to a bracket 11 on the back end Vof the frame leg 51 by a threaded rod 18 and anut19.

The drive for the4 picking unit 2 6, fully disclosed in application Serial No. 542,770, includes chain .means within a transverse casing 8| at the rear of the tractor. This chain means is driven by a power take-off shaft (not shown) extending rearwardly through the body ||l of the tractor and drives sprocket means ,(not shown) Within the casing 8| and upon the back end of a shaft 89. Shaft 89 is drivingly rconnected with gearing within a casing 98 upon the picking unit 26 by -a universal joint 95, a drive shaft 96, and a second universal joint 91.

In addition to the air chamber 21 of the picking unit 26 and the conduits 32 and 33 herein above described, the cottonconveying system includes a blower supported upon the tractor beneath the cotton receptacle 3|. This blower has a hori- Zontal inlet I2 through which air and cotton are sucked from the picking unit 26 through the conduit legs 32 and33, Fig. 1, thence through a conduit I i3 with which these legs 32 and 33 are confluent, and thence through a curved conduit I4. Conduit ||3 extends rearwardly and upwardly over the right rear wheel of the tractor as well as over the rear vaxle housing structure |2, and the conduit Ill then connecting with the conduit ||3 at a flexible joint||5extends transversely across the rear of the tractor to the horizontal fan inlet H2. The conduit H3 also has a flexible joint ||6 which cooperates with the joint l |5 in articulating the conduit systemnso that it facilitates vertical adjustment or movement of the pickingunit. v y

The fan outlet ||1, Figs. 3 and`4, extends vertically for connection withan upwardly extending Vspout H8 through which the air and cotton are discharged into the upperwpart'of there- Air and cotton enter the main 'part of the blower casing through a vestibule |22, th main part of the casing comprising a cylindrical wall ||9 circumferentially about and radially spaced y `from a bladed rotor |2|. This rotor is fxe'dfor -The rear part ofthe leg 51 is supported uponithe rotation with a shaft 25 rotatablewithin a bearcasing. As seen inFig, 4, the rotor comprises six aaonitz impelleriblades |28 extending radially fromthe shaft |25. Y t

In the operation of the blower, the rotating rotor discharges air centrifugally against the cylindrical wall IIS, the rotation ofthe fan being counter-clockwise as viewed from the rear in Fig. 4 so that this discharged. air is impelled tangentially upwardly from the casingI through the vertical outlet I I1. The air` thus discharged from the space between the ian blades |28is replaced by air forced by the atmosphere inwardly through the cotton-picker unit casing 21, where Vthe spindles project into passage 29. The casing21 therefore serves as an air chamber, and thecotton picked'by the spindles and carried into.. this chamber where it is doffed by the doflingmechanism D is carried upwardly by the air conduit legs 33.. The air thus forced into the casing and air chamber'21 of the'picking unit, laden withthe` picked cotton, after passing up into the legs 32 and 33, passes backwardly into` the blower inlet. Inlet I|2 is arranged transversely of the axis of the rotor I2I whereby the inertia of the cotton has a tendency to cause this cotton to impinge against a deflector wall II2a and thence to move radially and axially of the rotor, through an opening (not shown) in the rear wall of the main part ofthe casing; and thence onto the cylindrical wall Il!) withoutengaging or being struck by the fan blades.`A i i Placing the fan or blower I II belowthe receptacle 3| has an important advantage of utilizing the fan for changing the direction of flow of the cotton-laden air which has been directed transversely across the rear of the tractor through the conduit II4. Since it is a property of a blower to change the direction of the air propelled thereby, the expedient is here used of taking strategic advantage of the change of llow direction incurred by the blower, so no unnecessary loss in efficiency will obtain in directing the air and cotton to the desired place. Placing the blowerl I|| immediately below the receptacle 3| has the further advantage of providing for a substantially straight path and a short distance through which the cotton must be moved from the blower into the receptacle, and thereby makes it possible for the cotton and air to be discharged with greater speed through the remaining portion of the conduit system leading to the receptacle.

ilatwise tothe adjacent wall: and grille.

pendicularly-tol the adjacent wall of the receptacle and increases in width flatwisesof this wall` and'ofl the grille. VAt its upperend the spout therefore has a minor axis a-a normal tothe wall' and to the grille, and a major axis a.-a extending A further advantage of placing the blower beneath the receptacle '3l and particularly at the rear left sideof the: tractor is that the'axis about which the blower `rotor rotates extends forwardly alongside the left side of the tractor body and engine. This disposition of the blower rotorl axis makes it possible to` construct asimple Adriving This speed with which the cotton and air are caused to flow upwardly through the spout I I8 is signicant, since the air and cotton issuing from the upper end of the spout are impinged against the under side of an arched grille |54, which extends acress the cover |5I of the receptacle to separate trash from the cotton. This grille |54, which consists of groups of laterally spaced slender elements secured at one end to support members or rods |99 extending across an opening in the cover |5I, is fully described in the copending application Serial No. 542,774. It will suffice to say that the cotton, air and debris in striking the under side of the curved grille eley ments |55 at the right of the hopper cover |5I, as viewed in Fig. 4, are separated by the elements |55 which deflect the cotton across the top of the cover while permitting the air and a great portion of the trash to escape between the grille elements. To facilitate separation of the trash from the cotton, the spout IIB is designed with a flare so that the cotton is fed onto the grille in a thin layer. At the lower end of the spout I|8 it has a substantially square cross-section. As the spout extends upwardly, it decreases in width perof the tractor engine crank-shaft, This. driving connection consists of a pulley |4I, Fig. 2,` fixed rotatively tothe frontend extension I6 of the engine crank-shaft, avbelt |42 drivinglyconnectingthe pulley |4| with a pulley |43 upon the frontend of a shaft |44 journaled within a bearing |45 supported upon a bracket |46 suitably attached to the tractor engine. A universal joint |41 connects the :back endl of the shaft |44 with a long shaft |48, of which the back end is connected directlywith theblower rotor shaft |25 through a, universal `joint |49; see Fig.3. It is essential, to prevent choking of the pneumatic system with cotton, that the blower be operating at the very instantthe picking of cotton com.- fmences. With the present arrangement for driving the bloweratall times while the tractor engineis running, assurance is had that` air will be forced fromtheplant passage 29 in the picking unit 26` into thewair chamber or casing` 21 atv the time of theY passage `ofplants, into, the passage 29 and the operation thereon by the spindles SP. Introduction of cotton into the chamber 21 without the attendant introduction of air and the Vconsequent choking of the pneumatic system is thereby denitely avoided.

Receptacle 3| is supported upon a standard consisting of upright angle iron pieces |6| and |62 having their lower ends secured to a plate |64, which is detachably connected with the rear axle housing of the tractor. The plate |64,

together with a second plate |63 disposed in spaced parallelism therewith and a cross plate |65 welded to the plates |63 and |64, forms a .base for the attachment of the receptacle supporting standard. Footing braces |60 are connectedfbetween the plate |63 and the standard uprights |6| and |62. Pivotal attachment of the hopper to the standard is effected by plates |14, one being shown in Fig. 4, respectively at the front and the rear ends of the receptacle. These plates are journaled upon opposite end portions of a rod |15 extending between and fixed in the upper ends of the standard members |6| and |62. Pivoting of the receptacle in a counterclockwise direction about the rod |15 from the lling position shown where the upper end of the spout I8 is disposed in discharging relation with the under side of the grille elements |55, to a dumping position, is accomplished by arhydraulic ram |11 having a cylinder |18 of which the lower end is about the aforesaid counter-clockwise pivoting of the receptacle. When the receptacle is rotated approximately 90, the cover member is caused to pivot about hinges |89 at its inner edge for uncovering the receptacle so that the cotton maybe dumpedtherefrom. Such pivoting of the cover member is accomplished by a bracket and link,- age structure generally designated BL of which the operation, not pertinent to the present invention, is described in detail in said copending application Serial No. 542,770. A pair of springs |B4,. of which one is shown. in Fig. 4 and connected between respective of the standard uprights and lower portions of the hopper, become distended when the hopper approaches its dumping position and serve to accelerate the initial return movement of the receptacle toward the filling position subsequent to dumping and when the fluid is allowed to exhaust from the lower end of the ram cylinder |18;

Actuating fluid for the cylinder ram is obtained from a pump |85 and controlled by a valve |86 having a control handle |81 disposed accessibly to an operator at the station 24.

For claims directed to subject-matter herein disclosed but Vnot claimed, reference should be had to copendin-g application of Clarence R. Hagen et al., Serial No. 542,770, containing claims directed to the general arrangement of various components of the apparatus with respect to one another and with respect to the tractor; an application of Clarence R. Hagen, Seria1.No. A542,771,

containing claims directedY to .features of the picking uniti which is suspended at a side'ofthe tractor engine; application of Clarence R. Hagen, Serial No. 542,772, containing claims directed to the blower of the pneumatic cotton conveying system; and application of Clarence R. Hagen et al., Serial No. 542,774, containing claims directed to the cotton receptacle and the grillecover therefor.

Having thus described the invention with reference to a, preferred embodiment thereof with the View of clearly illustrating the invention, I claim:

In a vehicular cotton picking apparatus, a receptacle supporting standard, a cotton-receiving receptacle on said standard, said receptacle including a ceiling grille of laterally spaced longitudinal elements, and a pneumatic cotton conveying system for the introduction of cotton into the receptacle, comprising a blower beneath the receptacle with an outlet for the ejection of cotton-laden air, and a conduit leading upwardly from said outlet adjacently Vto and exteriorly of said receptacle to discharge the cotton and air against the inner side of the grille, said conduit being compoundly tapered as its upper discharge end is approached to decrease in width along one transverse axis which becomes the minor axis at the discharge end and to increase in width along a transverse axis nomnal to the first axis and which becomes the major axis at said discharge end, said discharge end of the conduit being arranged with its major axis iiatwise transversely of the grille and to discharge angularly against the inner side of the grille lengthwise of its elements, and the taper of said conduit being such that the transverse area at its discharge end does not substantially exceed the transverse area of said conduit.

CLARENCE R. HAGEN. 

